Flutterhulk-Act III-17-When the Moment is Right

Act III:
“Naqoyqatsi (Life as War)”

Chapter Seventeen:
"Strike When the Moment is Right"



“And here we are,” Dr. Cheerilee said, leading them into the laboratory. Fluttershy’s eyes widened at the sight of dozens of pieces of advanced computers and laboratory equipment. There were several chairs, all with wheels, scattered about the room, and the various computers all beeped and chirped.

“Have a seat there,” Cheerilee said, motioning towards a weathered couch in the corner. Tree Flower and Fluttershy made a beeline towards it, sitting down and both attempting to get comfortable. Fluttershy continued to study the room, noticing the large number of terrariums, all with various reptiles, mostly lizards, lining the walls.

“I see you like reptiles,” Tree Flower said, looking around the room. Dr. Cheerilee, who was now standing across the room rummaging through some draws nodded.

“Yeah. I specialize in herpetology,” she said, pulling out what looked like a box of needles.

“Really?” Tree Flower asked.

“Yeah huh,” Dr. Cheerilee replied, turning to trot over to them, box in mouth, and sitting in front of Fluttershy. “They’re so interesting. You know that lizards can regrow their tails?”

“Yeah,” Fluttershy replied, speaking for the first time. Dr. Cheerilee smiled towards her kindly, motioning towards Fluttershy’s foreleg. Fluttershy looked towards Tree Flower worriedly, and Tree Flower simply smiled. Reluctantly, Fluttershy extended her leg, and Dr. Cheerilee took it in hoof, and motioned towards the box.

“Ms. Flower, would you mind opening that, I need you to open the antiseptic wipes okay?" She asked, and Tree Flower nodded, reaching for the box and opening it, pulling out a small packet that was labed 'Antiseptic Wipes'.

"These wipes right?" She asked, holding the packet towards Dr. Cheerilee. Dr. Cheerilee nodded.

"Exactly. Would you mind opening that pack?" She asked, and Tree Flower nodded. Dr. Cheerilee turned back to Fluttershy, still smiling.

"Alright then Miss Fluttershy, would you mind telling me about any symptoms that you have? Just so I have the information right from the source." She asked, raising an eyebrow as she took the fresh wipe from Tree Flower and rubbed it along a spot on Fluttershy's foreleg. Fluttershy took a deep breath, trying to figure out how to describe her problem.

"W-well," she started, her voice still quiet. "Usually, after an...accident, I can't remember what happened." As Dr. Cheerilee rubbed another wipe over the same area, and Fluttershy could feel the spot grow slightly numb.

"You can't remember?" Dr. Cheerilee asked, her voice curious as she reached into the box and pulled out a large needle. Fluttershy felt her breath hitch and her heart rate jump at the sight of the needle.

"Oh no...not that," she whimpered, catching Dr. Cheerilee and Tree Flower's attention.
"What? The needle?" Dr. Cheerilee asked, concern in her voice. Fluttershy nodded, looking towards the needle fearfully. Dr. Cheerilee seemed to notice her fear as she put her artificial leg on Fluttershy's shoulder. "Look, I do need to take a blood sample and the needle is only way I can get it. If you want, you can close your eyes so you don't see it. That better? And I even put anesthesia there so all you'll feel is a pinch."

Fluttershy bit her lip fearfully before closing her eyes tightly and leaning against Tree Flower, who was already gently rubbing Fluttershy's back. she then held her trembling hoof out again, and felt a sharp prick, followed a dull thudding ache.

“And there we go, that’s a good sample.” she heard Dr. Cheerilee say, and Fluttershy opened her eyes to see Dr. Cheerilee dabbing a piece of gauze where the needle had just been.

“Th-that’s it?” Fluttershy asked, hoping she wouldn’t have to get anymore needle punctures. Dr. Cheerilee nodded.

“Yeah, that’s it. I’m going to take this blood sample, and I’ll see if there’s anything to deduce from it.” she said as she stood up, vial in hoof, and trotted over to the machine. “So,” she said, placing the vial in what looked like some sort of spinning mechanism which spun the vial gently, swishing the blood inside around. “What about your symptoms?” she asked, turning to face Fluttershy.

“You said you can’t remember what happened?” she added, arching an eyebrow. Fluttershy nodded reluctantly, biting her lip slightly.

“Y-yeah…” she replied, hiding behind her mane. Dr. Cheerilee nodded.

“Hmm...interesting. Anything else? Like do you remember what happens before you…” she wiggled her hoof slightly. “...transform?”

“W-well, usually I just feel sc-scared or angry….” Fluttershy said. “I’d really rather not talk about it if that’s okay with you.”

Dr. Cheerilee nodded. “No of course, that makes sense. It’s probably an incredibly harrowing experience for you,” Fluttershy noticed that she rubbed her prosthetic leg absentmindedly as she said this. There was a noticeable pause as the three ponies simply looked at each other awkwardly, unsure of what to say next. Fluttershy could see that Dr. Cheerilee was thinking of something, but Fluttershy had no idea what might be going on in the doctor's mind.

There was an electronic ping and Dr. Cheerilee’s eyes darted back towards the machine behind her. “Ah, there we are…” she said, turning and taking the vial from the machine, and opening the top. Taking what looked like an oversized eyedropper in her normal hoof, she extracted a small amount of blood from the vial and poured it into another, slightly smaller vial. She then picked up another eyedropper filled with a yellowish liquid.

Fluttershy raised an eyebrow. “What are you doing Dr. Cheerilee?” she asked.

“Oh, I’m just adding some chemicals to it in order to see if my hunch is correct.”

“Hunch? What hunch?” Tree Flower asked, and Fluttershy actually noticed that she hadn’t spoken much since they entered the room. Her expression seemed serious, and her voice sounded suspicious. Dr. Cheerilee glanced over her shoulder.

“Well, from what Fluttershy is telling me, since it seems that her problem might be adrenal based, since she mentioned either feeling angry or stressed…” she poured the contents of the eyedropper into the smaller vial. “So, if my theory is correct, that means that this special adrenal chemical mixture I’ve made should create some sort of chemical reaction.”

Fluttershy and Tree Flower nodded in synch, but Fluttershy honestly had only heard lots of sciencey technobabble. She honestly worried what it all meant, and something inside “Chemical reaction?” Tree Flower asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Well yes. Basically, if my assumption is correct, it will mimic whatever transformation Fluttershy undergoes, but on a smaller scale,” Cheerilee answered, placing the vial of blood back on the machine, and setting into motion. As the machine spun, Fluttershy watched as the yellow liquid and the blood mixed together. As the vial spun around, Fluttershy felt her stomach twist at the sight of her blood turning a shade of dark green.

“Oh my…” Dr. Cheerilee said, arching an eyebrow at the sight of the blood changing color. “That’s not at all expected…” She murmured as the blood in the vial soon began to bubble and fizzle as if it were boiling before bubbling over out of the vial. Dr. Cheerilee was quick to switch the machine off and the vial stopped spinning, with the contents inside spilling all over the counter.

There was another rather awkward pause as the three ponies looked at the green blood, which seemed to be slowly be returning to it’s rich crimson color. Fluttershy simply blinked. The idea that her own blood, isolated from her very body, could still be able to undergo such a monstrous transformation made her whole body shiver involuntarily. But, still, it seemed that, once it had stopped being agitated, it had returned to it’s normal, red color.

“What happened?” she asked, looking towards Dr. Cheerilee, who also seemed to be pondering the spilled blood.

“Well….it seems to be that whenever your adrenaline levels go up, which I just simulated, it means that your blood undergoes a vast chemical transformation. But apparently, whenever your adrenaline levels go down, everything reverts to normal.”

Fluttershy nodded slightly, still unsure of what exactly Dr. Cheerilee was talking about. She honestly wished she had read up on biology on the way over, so that she wouldn’t be so out of the loop. She let out a confused sigh. “This is so confusing…” she said softly.

Dr. Cheerilee meanwhile, rubbed her chin with her free hoof. This case was...interesting. It seemed that this pony’s problem involved complex adrenaline chemical interactions. I wonder if… she thought, the gears in her head turning as she trotted towards a nearby shelf. She scanned it, her eyes landing on a vial labled “Haloperidol”. Here we go…

“Okay I think I have an idea for another test.” she said, turning towards Fluttershy and Tree Flower. Tree Flower raised an eyebrow.

“Another test? Why?” she asked, her voice now incredulous.

“Well, in this case, we only saw what happens when the blood has adrenaline in it. Now, since we all want to find a way to prevent such a transformation from happening in the first place, we need to induce another transforma-”

“NO." Tree Flower cut Dr. Cheerilee off with such venom that both Fluttershy and Cheerilee flinched. “I will not allow you to turn my daughter into a laboratory experiment. She’s already gone through enough and I’m not about to let you inject her with some random chemical.”

“You didn’t let me finish Miss Flower,” Dr. Cheerilee said, holding up a hoof. “I didn’t say I was just going to inject random chemicals into your daughter.”

“Well that’s what it sounded like to me!” Tree Flower rebutted, standing up from the chair. “How else are you supposed to ‘induce a transformation’?”

“Miss Flower please, I understand why you’re worried. I would be worried too. But this is the only way we can be sure that my theory is going to work.”

“What theory? Are you saying that you just came up with one now?”

“No. And my theory is that maybe if we were to induce a transformation using my adrenal serum, we can administer a sedative and perhaps counter act the transformation.”

“But that means putting lives at risk!”

Fluttershy hadn’t said a word, just watching both Dr. Cheerilee and Tree Flower argue viciously. She’d never seen her mother look so viciously angry before in her life.

“...Mother,” Fluttershy said quietly, looking towards her mother worriedly.

“I’m trying to help your daughter” Dr. Cheerilee said, taking a step forward.

“By forcing a transformation!?!” Tree Flower replied, her voice becoming harsher and taking her own step forward.

Fluttershy bit her lip, turning towards Dr. Cheerilee. “..Doctor”

However, it seemed that both Cheerilee and Tree Flower were too busy to notice Fluttershy’s now fearful expression. “This is for the best and it...” Dr. Cheerilee began, before Tree Flower cut her off again.

“The BEST?!? How can putting dozens if not hundreds of lives at risk be for the best?!” she spat, now directly in Dr. Cheerilee’s face.

Dr. Cheerilee shook her head, blinking rapidly. “I don't want to put lives at risk, but don't you want to cure your daughter? There's always going to be some risk involv-"

"Some risk involved would be an understatement! You don't even know what she's capable of and you’re just going to go in on a hunch?!"

“DOCTOR! MOTHER!” Fluttershy practically shrieked, causing both Dr. Cheerilee and Tree Flower to clamp their mouths shut and look towards Fluttershy in shock.

“Stop fighting both of you!” Fluttershy shouted, barely even noticing the blood pounding in her ears. “Don’t I have a choice in this matter, mother?! You’re always telling me to stop letting my fear control me and make a decision, but then when I’m finally asked by someone to make a decision, you say no! Why?!”

“Fluttershy, calm down. she was going to make you transform again.” Tree Flower replied, her voice still stern. "And we just can't risk that."

"Calm down?! Don't you think I know that mother?! You're not the one who has spent years knowing that every time I'm in a room with someone, I run the risk of squashing them like a bug! I want that to stop! I want to be free!" Fluttershy replied, now with tears in her eyes. "I'm just sick and tired of all this running and lying and I just want all this fighting to stop!"

As soon as these words left her lips, Fluttershy felt a piercing pain at the back of her neck and everything suddenly seemed to go fuzzy, with Dr. Cheerilee's and Tree Flower's voices sounding murky and hard to define. Alarm bells were going off in her brain in a wild frenzy, but all Fluttershy could do was stumble forward, her legs seemingly having turned to liquid and she could only just make out her mother shouting her name in panic. Next thing Fluttershy knew she was face first with the floor and everything went black.


/////////////////////////


Snowflake hunkered down in his hidden position perched up in a tree across from the doctor’s office. He had insisted on taking this rather vulnerable position himself, as it gave him a clear view into the building across the street. Luckily enough, the foolish scientist who owned the building had left the window curtains open, giving the pegasus a perfect shot into the upstairs laboratory should the need arise.

A grim smile crossed his face when he caught sight of the familiar yellow figure of his target. He was about to announce that he had a shot when a pony he had been briefed on during the trip to Manehattan stepped in the way. It was a middle aged mare with a coral coat and reddish brown mane. Another pony Snowflake couldn’t recognize stepped into his line of sight as well, ruining any chances of a shot. It was a purple earth pony mare in a white lab coat. Snowflake assumed it was the scientist. The three ponies moved about the room, Snowflake grumbling in frustration as any potential shot was ruined by their constant movement.

Just then, Fluttershy stepped back into his line of sight and sat down on the couch, her mouth moving as she spoke with the scientist Snowflake practically beamed. Fate must have been smiling on him today, as the couch she sat in was perfectly in his line of sight.

“This is Snowflake called Iron Will. I have a shot sir,” he spoke into the microphone he had. There was a brief crackle and he was greeted by the sound of Iron Will in his earpiece.

“Excellent. What is the target doing?” the general asked, sounding expectant. Snowflake shrugged.

“The mare’s talking to a purple earth pony. And I have her perfectly in my sights. Do I take the shot?” he asked, tensing up in expectation. There was a long pause on the other side as Snowflake waited for a response.

“No. Not quite yet. Let me and my men get into position first,” Iron Will ordered, as the sound of dozens of ponies moving and shouting behind him confirmed that they were indeed ready to move.

Snowflake cursed under his breath. Here was his chance to finally prove himself as the best. He was about to single-hoofedly capture Equestria’s most wanted criminal with one shot, and what did the General want to do? He wanted to wait. Snowflake bristled, his newly sensitive ears picking up the distant sound of hoof falls coming up from behind him as backup arrived.

All of a sudden, he thought he heard the scratchy voice of his father whisper in his ear.

Take the shot laddie. Prove to me that you’re the best, the voice sneered, causing Snowflake to tense up even more. He could feel his muscles tighten in both frustration and expectation. The sound of hooves steadily grew louder as Iron Will and his men approached.

Do it laddie. Now. you don’t need those stupid ponies and you know it. You’re better than them. You’re faster, you’re smarter, you’re stronger. Take the shot. They’ll all be thankful to ya, the voice hissed once more, now sounding impatient.

Snowflake shifted slightly, wincing as a tree branch poked him in the abdomen. Leave me alone Father. I can do this myself, he thought, mentally snapping back at the phantom griffin. He swore he could hear the spectre of his father scoff.

Oh please. Those ponies don’t know what they’re doing. But you do. You’ve been in more battles and skirmishes than any of those greenhorns. And no son of mine let’s a silly pony boss him around like a chick. Be a griffin. Take the shot, the voice insisted, and Snowflake could’ve sworn that he felt something nudge him in the shoulder. He whipped his head to the side, expecting maybe a squirrel or a bird of some kind, maybe even just another branch, but saw nothing but air.

TAKE THE BLOODY SHOT YOU WEAK EXCUSE FOR A SON!!! the voice of his father practically screamed in his ear, now to his right. Snowflake was startled for a second before regaining his control and setting his jaw tightly. All of a sudden, the voice of Iron Will came over the earpiece.

“Take the shot."

Snowflake smiled broadly readying his rifle and finally pulling the trigger. “I’m not weak, Father!” he hissed aloud, as there was a light ‘puff’ sound as the tranquilizer was sent flying through the air and through the glass window of the lab. He felt a massive grin explode across his face as the dart impacted Fluttershy in the back of the neck. his ears picked up the delightful sound of her crying out in pain as she slumped over, quickly falling unconscious and slumping out his line of sight.

There you go Father, he thought as he heard Tree Flower scream in terror as her daughter lay on the floor. I’m not weak. his confidence restored, he spoke into the microphone again.

“General I have taken care of the situation. Target has been nullified.” With those words, he hopped out of the tree and floated down to the ground, a content smile on his face as more than two dozen ponies in military uniforms burst forth from all around, out of bushes and from trees, all armed to the teeth. They stormed in towards the scientist's building, breaking down the door.

Pegasi units dropped down from the sky above, having been placed in strategically low lying clouds, and sweep inside the building as well.

Snowflake simply stood there, content that he had finally captured that foolish little mare. He caught sight of the familiar shape of General Iron Will walking towards him. The General stood in front of him for a moment, looking down at Snowflake like a disappointed father. Snowflake felt a chill go down his spine, however, when the ghostly form of his father drifted into focus. Instead of his normal scowl however, the griffin wore a grim, yet pleased, smile, and nodded towards Snowflake approvingly.

“Officer Snowflake...” Iron Will spoke, his voice low and commanding, “You’ve done an exceptional job. Well played.”

Snowflake nodded, “Yes sir, thank you sir.”

Iron Will was silent for a moment before continuing, “I’ll be sure to put a good word for you back at HQ,” the General reached for his walkie talkie and spoke into it, “Alrighty labrats. You can have your fun now.” There was a low rumble as what seemed to be a large mobile home rumbled into view with the label “Mobile Lab Unit” on the side. Iron Will then looked towards the brownstone across the street. Snowflake watched as the General started towards the group of ponies there were carrying the now-straight-jacketed body of Fluttershy out of the building. She was still totally unconscious.

Iron Will leaned over the unconscious pegasus. “I finally have you,” he whispered, even though he knew she couldn’t hear him, “And this time, I’m not going to let you get away so easily.” With that, he motioned for them to carry her to the nearby Mobile Lab Unit. Iron Will waited until he caught sight of the mare he knew was Fluttershy’s mother, who was now surrounded by a gaggle of troops. It was obvious that she had just been crying.

“Hello Mrs. Flower. Nice to finally meet you.” As soon as he finished, he was promptly greeted by a slap to the face from the mare.

“You’re a monster.” the mare said, her voice tight with emotion. Iron Will simply shrugged, unfazed.

“Ma’am, you can believe that if you wish. But to me, I’m just doing what is necessary to keep Equestria safe from the real monster. Your daughter. Farewell,” with that, he turned back towards the Mobile Lab Unit, leaving the crying mare behind.



"You got to be crazy, you gotta have a real need
You gotta sleep on your toes and when you're on the streets
You gotta be able to pick out the easy meat
With your eyes closed
Then moving in silently, down wind and out of sight
You gotta strike when the moment is right without thinking"
- Dogs by Pink Floyd